Set up and use iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos works seamlessly with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.

Here's how it works

iCloud Photos automatically keeps every photo and video you take in iCloud, so you can access your library from any device, anytime you want. Any changes you make to your collection on one device, change on your other devices too. Your photos and videos stay organized into Moments, Collections, and Years. And all of your Memories and People are updated everywhere. That way you can quickly find the moment, family member, or friend you're looking for.

Your collection uploads to iCloud each time your device connects to Wi-Fi and your battery is charged. When you have iOS 11 or later, your library updates over cellular too. Depending on your Internet speed, the time it takes for you to see your photos and videos on all of your devices and iCloud.com might vary.

In earlier versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and iCloud for Windows, iCloud Photos was called iCloud Photo Library.

See your edits on all of your devices

When you make edits in the Photos app on your iOS device or your Mac, the photo automatically updates across all of your devices. So when you crop or enhance a photo from your iPhone, you see the changes when you access your library from your Mac. If you change your mind and want to revert to the original view, it's no problem. The original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and you can go back to them at any time.

Even the photos and videos you delete on one device, delete everywhere that you use iCloud Photos. And if you want to get a photo back, you can restore it from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days.

You can make edits on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, and you’ll see them on your Apple TV automatically. Your entire collection is available on Apple TV, including your Memories and shared albums.

File types that you can use with iCloud Photos

Your photos and videos are stored in iCloud exactly as you took them. All of your images are held in their original formats at full resolution — HEIF, JPEG, RAW, PNG, GIF, TIFF, HEVC, and MP4 — as well as special formats you capture with your iPhone, like slo-mo, time-lapse, 4K videos, and Live Photos.

If you're on a device with iOS 11 or later or macOS High Sierra or later, the photos and videos you take are in HEIF and HEVC format. These formats use less storage, with the same quality.

Download your original photos and videos

You can download a copy of your original photos or videos on iCloud.com, iOS, or Mac.

On iCloud.com, click Photos, and select one or more photos and videos that you want to download. Click and hold in the upper-right corner of the window. If you want to download your content as it was originally captured or imported, choose Unmodified Original. For JPEG or H.264 format — including edits, and even if it was orginally in HEIF or HEVC format — choose Most Compatible. Click download.

Save space on your device

iCloud Photos keeps all of your photos and videos in their original, high-resolution version. You can save space on your device when you turn on Optimize Storage.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud.

Tap Photos.

Choose Optimize [device] Storage.

On your Mac:

Open the Photos app and click Photos in the menu bar.

Click Preferences.

Go to the iCloud tab and choose a storage setting.

If you turn on Optimize Storage, iCloud Photos automatically manages the size of your library on your device. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and space-saving versions are kept on your device. Your library is optimized only when you need space, starting with the photos and videos you access least. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them. You can use Optimize Storage on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photos keeps your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device.

Pause library uploads to iCloud

When you turn on iCloud Photos, the time it takes for your photos and videos to upload to iCloud depends on the size of your collection and your Internet speed. If you have a large collection of photos and videos, your upload might take more time than usual. You can see the status and pause the upload for one day.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. You can also open the Photos app, go to the Photos tab, and scroll to the bottom of your screen.

On your Mac, open the Photos app. Select Photos in the sidebar, then click Photos or Moments in the list of tabs in the toolbar. Scroll to the bottom of your photos and click Pause.

Learn more

Use Shared Albums to create a shared album with just the people you choose.

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